BMW M3 CSL review: is this the greatest M car of all time? 

I’ve driven some pretty cool cars in my time – from the Audi RS7 Performance and the Porsche 718 Spyder RS to a 1980s Skoda Favorit. But in July, I drove something which will stick with me forever: the E46 BMW M3 CSL.

Launched in 2003, the M3 CSL is a stripped back, hardcore version of the third-generation M3. It wasn’t just a case of removing the back seats and bumping the power up a bit either, this is a serious bit of kit.

Under the bonnet is a 3.2-litre naturally-aspirated straight-six engine. In the standard M3 this produces 343hp, but the CSL’s engine was tweaked to make 360hp. One of the most notable modifications is the carbon fibre intake, which not only helps the engine breathe more easily but also gives you some fantastic induction noise when you put your foot down.

By modern standards, 360hp doesn’t seem like a lot – a new BMW M4 CS has 550hp. The thing is, the M3 CSL is a very light car. It’s a whopping 110kg lighter than the standard M3 of this era, and it’s 450kg lighter than the new M4 CS.

There’s loads of carbon fibre in this car. The roof, bootlid, centre console and and the pared-back door cards are all made of the stuff, and the racy bucket seats are also lighter than the standard chairs.

A modern M3 will still batter this car in a drag race, but it’s not the straight-line speed which left me mesmerised by the M3 CSL – it’s the way it drives on a country road.

It had a bit of a reputation back in 2003 for being a seriously lairy thing to drive – if you specced the optional semi-slick tyres they came with a warning to take care in cold or wet conditions because it could try to switch ends on you. So you can see why I was a bit apprehensive to get this £150,000 car out on the road.

As soon as you pull away you’ll realise that this is a properly special car. The six-speed gearbox is an automated manual, and while it’s not great in stop-start traffic it’s lightning quick when you start to push on. It feels like you get a punch in the back as you change up as well, which just adds to the theatre.

The suspension setup is sublime as well. It has bespoke springs and dampers, and there’s a wider front track to give you more grip. The steering is almost telepathic, you just think about where you want to go and the car just goes there. There’s an incredible amount of grip as well, and it’s easy to tell when you’re approaching the limit. It doesn’t just snap on you, there’s plenty of warning that you need to back off a bit.

It’s fabulous in the corners, and then you get to a straight bit of road. The joy of having “only” 360hp is that it’s not so fast that you can’t exploit that sonorous engine, and as you get towards the red line it makes an incredible noise.

The BMW M3 CSL feels raw and focussed in a way that not many cars do these days. It’s a visceral experience, and one I’m not likely to forget in a hurry. It’s a shame I’m unlikely to be able to afford one anytime soon though, because these days the starting price for a high-mileage example is around £100,000.

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